Finally! Arrest Made in 2015 Murder of Rapper Chinx

Two men were arrested over the shooting of Chinx

Two men have been arrested and charged with the murder of Lionel Pickens, better known by his stage name of Chinx.

The French Montana-affiliated rapper and promising Queens talent was gunned down in May 2015 while sitting at a red light near Main Street and Queens Boulevard. New York police allege that Jamar Hill, 26, and Quincy Homere, 32, followed Pickens and a friend as they traveled from a nightclub in Brooklyn into Queens, ultimately firing into the car at this stop light.

Pickens suffered several gunshot wounds to his torso and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Picken’s friend was shot in the back but survived the incident.

Long Island residents Hill and Homere face charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If they are convicted, they face 25-to-life in prison.

“A young, up-and-coming musician had his life and career dramatically cut short by a burst of senseless shooting,” District Attorney Richard Brown told PIX 11. “Such violence has no place in a civilized society.”

He also called the shooting “another example of mindless gun violence plaguing our country.”

Credit: Brad Barket/Getty Images for BET

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Tributes

Source: Instagram @chinxmusic

At the time of Chinx’s death, many rappers digitally poured one out for the promising rapper. French Montana’s Coke Boys lead the charge but the love was shared well outside of that.

Meek Mill shared his condolences and also pointed to it as a reason for young rappers to leave the hood and not look back. He wrote:

“This is exactly why I don’t play in the streets ….. Chinx to French like Omelly to me! I tell @Omelly and my real day 1s get out that hood no matter what it cost or the circumstance! It’s nothing that add up to losing ya life at a young age!!! N*ggas killing n*ggas that’s Tryna win! I got love for the people in the hood but I don’t f*ck wit the hood nomore!, REST WELL #CHINX WE GONE F*CKING MISS YOU!!!”

Earlier this year, French marked the two-year anniversary of Chinx’s death with a tribute post that put together a lot of the work that Chinx had done before his tragic death.

“Legend before your time,” he wrote along with the video. “Miss u king — this one of them days.”

Beyond that tribute, French has actively pushed for the music that Chinx was working on prior to his death to be released — an effort that resulted in two posthumous albums. Welcome To JFK, the debut he was working on at the time of his death, dropped in 2015 and another collection called Legends Never Die came out last year. Both albums were positively received by critics, who sadly noted the potential displayed by the young artist’s abbreviated output.

Fox 5 New York reporter Lisa Evers was on hand for the suspects being perp-walked into a Queens district police building and shared the video on Instagram. Evers said that the Queens Homicide detectives broke the case up with the help of Chinx’s widow Janelli Pickens.

Check out one of those videos up top. Why did it take police so long to nail down a suspect? Are you happy that Chinx and his family might finally see justice? Sound off in the comments and be sure to SHARE this article.